US20070045045A1 - Climb assist system - Google Patents
Climb assist system Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20070045045A1 US20070045045A1 US11/216,779 US21677905A US2007045045A1 US 20070045045 A1 US20070045045 A1 US 20070045045A1 US 21677905 A US21677905 A US 21677905A US 2007045045 A1 US2007045045 A1 US 2007045045A1
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- United States
- Prior art keywords
- climb assist
- cable
- assist system
- guide
- attached
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
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- 230000009194 climbing Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 39
- 230000002265 prevention Effects 0.000 claims description 17
- 238000009434 installation Methods 0.000 description 7
- 241001503987 Clematis vitalba Species 0.000 description 6
- 238000012423 maintenance Methods 0.000 description 3
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 3
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 3
- 230000001174 ascending effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 125000006850 spacer group Chemical group 0.000 description 2
- 229910000831 Steel Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 238000005299 abrasion Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000005452 bending Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000010276 construction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000003780 insertion Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000037431 insertion Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000010959 steel Substances 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A62—LIFE-SAVING; FIRE-FIGHTING
- A62B—DEVICES, APPARATUS OR METHODS FOR LIFE-SAVING
- A62B1/00—Devices for lowering persons from buildings or the like
- A62B1/06—Devices for lowering persons from buildings or the like by making use of rope-lowering devices
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- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E06—DOORS, WINDOWS, SHUTTERS, OR ROLLER BLINDS IN GENERAL; LADDERS
- E06C—LADDERS
- E06C7/00—Component parts, supporting parts, or accessories
- E06C7/12—Lifts or other hoisting devices on ladders
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E06—DOORS, WINDOWS, SHUTTERS, OR ROLLER BLINDS IN GENERAL; LADDERS
- E06C—LADDERS
- E06C7/00—Component parts, supporting parts, or accessories
- E06C7/18—Devices for preventing persons from falling
- E06C7/186—Rail or rope for guiding a safety attachment, e.g. a fall arrest system
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F03—MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS; WIND, SPRING, OR WEIGHT MOTORS; PRODUCING MECHANICAL POWER OR A REACTIVE PROPULSIVE THRUST, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- F03D—WIND MOTORS
- F03D80/00—Details, components or accessories not provided for in groups F03D1/00 - F03D17/00
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F03—MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS; WIND, SPRING, OR WEIGHT MOTORS; PRODUCING MECHANICAL POWER OR A REACTIVE PROPULSIVE THRUST, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- F03D—WIND MOTORS
- F03D80/00—Details, components or accessories not provided for in groups F03D1/00 - F03D17/00
- F03D80/50—Maintenance or repair
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
- Y02E10/00—Energy generation through renewable energy sources
- Y02E10/70—Wind energy
- Y02E10/72—Wind turbines with rotation axis in wind direction
Definitions
- the present invention generally relates to a climb assist system and, more particularly, relates to a climb assist system adapted for installation in locations providing limited access space.
- a fall arrest system generally includes a rope or cable extending along a climbing structure for receiving a rope grab attached to a person, where the rope grab will immovably engage the rope or cable if a downward force is applied to an actuator of the rope grab, such as may occur when a person begins to fall from the climbing structure.
- a climb assist system generally provides an upward force, such as from a counterweight attached via a rope or cable to a person to assist the person in ascending or descending the climbing structure. The counterweight provided by the climb assist system may facilitate slowing a person's descent, should the person fall from the climbing structure, but generally may not provide the safety of a fall arrest system to prevent or arrest the continued fall of a person from the climbing structure.
- wind tower installations in which wind driven turbines are mounted at the top of towers.
- Such wind tower installations are being designed to increasing heights in a continuing effort to place the wind turbine on the top of the tower at an optimal location for receiving wind energy.
- wind towers are now often constructed to heights exceeding 200 feet, and the wind towers may typically be grouped together in wind turbine farms, some of which may include hundreds of wind turbines.
- Maintenance of the wind turbines themselves requires experienced workers that typically have an expertise in working on electrical equipment.
- maintenance of multiple wind towers in a wind turbine farm may require a worker to climb several towers each day which, when combined with the increasing height of the towers, may contribute to worker fatigue.
- a counterweight is disclosed attached to a climber via a system of pulleys for counterbalancing the climber's weight to thereby assist ascent of the climber.
- One difficulty in designing a system for installation in a wind tower relates to the particular construction of wind towers in which a plurality of platforms are provided in the ascent from the ground to the top of the tower.
- a slot or hole is provided through each of the platforms for a ladder and for allowing a climber to pass upwardly or downwardly through the platforms; however, the platforms pose a difficulty in that they may restrict passage of a counterweight or a modification of the platforms may be required to accommodate a counterweight.
- the present invention provides a climb assist structure which may be readily mounted with an existing fall arrest structure to provide an assembly that is easily retrofit to existing climbing structures. Further, the climb assist structure may be substantially entirely attached to an ladder defining a climbing structure and employs a compact counterweight and guide structure for efficient implementation of the climb assist structure.
- a climb assist system for use in combination with a climbing structure having upper and lower ends.
- the climb assist system comprises a header assembly for attachment to the upper end of the climbing structure, the header assembly including a pulley frame having opposing front and rear ends and front and rear pulleys located adjacent the front and rear ends.
- At least one elongated guide member extends from the header assembly downwardly toward the lower end of the climbing structure.
- a climb assist cable extends over the front and rear pulleys and includes a front cable portion for extending along a front side of the climbing structure, and a rear cable portion for extending along a rear portion of the climbing structure adjacent to the at least one guide member.
- a counterweight is attached to the rear cable portion of the climb assist cable, the counterweight including a guide portion engaged with the at least one guide member.
- a climb assist system for attachment to a fall prevention system including a fall prevention cable attached to an upper cable support located at the upper end of a climbing structure.
- the climb assist system comprises a header assembly for attachment to the upper end of the climbing structure, the header assembly including a pulley frame having opposing front and rear ends and front and rear pulleys located adjacent the front and rear ends.
- a vertical brace includes a first end for attachment to the upper cable support and a second end engaged with the pulley frame between the front and rear pulleys.
- First and second guide cables extend from the pulley frame downwardly toward the lower end of the climbing structure.
- a climb assist cable extends over the front and rear pulleys and includes a front cable portion for extending along a front side of the climbing structure, and a rear cable portion for extending along a rear portion of the climbing structure adjacent to the first and second guide cables.
- a counterweight is attached to the rear cable portion of the climb assist cable, the counterweight including at least one guide portion engaged with at least one of the guide cables.
- a climb assist system in combination with a ladder comprising vertically extending side rails and vertically spaced horizontal rungs extending between the side rails, including a fall prevention system comprising a fall prevention cable having upper and lower ends attached to upper and lower cable supports, respectively, at upper and lower rungs of the ladder.
- the climb assist system comprises a header assembly including a vertical brace and a horizontally extending pulley frame having opposing front and rear ends, the vertical brace having a first end engaged with the upper cable support and a second end engaged with the pulley frame between the front and rear ends.
- the pulley frame comprises lateral vertical walls and lateral horizontal wings extending from the lateral vertical walls.
- the pulley frame also includes front and rear pulleys located adjacent the front and rear ends, respectively, of the pulley frame and between the lateral vertical walls.
- First and second guide cables are provided, each guide cable including an upper end attached to a respective one of the lateral wings and a lower end rigidly fixed adjacent a lower end of the ladder.
- the guide cables extend along a rear side of a plane defined by the rungs of the ladder.
- a climb assist cable extends over the front and rear pulleys and includes a front cable portion extending along a front side of the plane defined by the rungs of the ladder adjacent to the fall prevention cable, and a rear cable portion extending along the rear side of the plane defined by the rungs of the ladder and located between the first and second guide cables.
- a counterweight is attached to the rear cable portion of the climb assist cable for substantially offsetting the weight of a person attached to the front cable portion, the counterweight including first and second guide portions engaged over the first and second guide cables, respectively.
- FIG. 1 depicts a wind tower into which the climb assist system described herein may be incorporated;
- FIG. 2 is a partially cut away view of the top portion of a wind tower, including a ladder and incorporating the climb assist system described herein;
- FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the climb assist system described herein and shown in combination with a ladder and fall arrest system;
- FIG. 4 is a front elevation view of the climb assist system described herein and shown in combination with the ladder and fall arrest system;
- FIG. 5 is a side elevation view of a header assembly for the climb assist system described herein;
- FIG. 6 is a front elevation view of the header assembly for the climb assist system described herein.
- FIG. 7 is a bottom plan view of the header assembly for the climb assist system described herein.
- the climb assist system 10 described herein is shown in combination with a wind tower 12 having a turbine 14 driven by wind impinging on blades 16 .
- the turbine 14 is supported on top of a vertically extending tower structure 18 .
- the tower structure 18 is constructed as a hollow structure and includes a vertically extending climbing structure, illustrated herein as a ladder 20 attached to an interior surface of the tower structure 18 .
- the ladder 20 extends from a lower location adjacent a base 22 of the tower structure 18 to an upper location adjacent the turbine 14 .
- a plurality of platforms 24 are located within the tower structure 18 positioned in vertically spaced relation to each other.
- the ladder 20 extends through holes 26 formed in the platforms 24 where a backside of the ladder 20 , facing away from the attachment location to the interior surface of the tower structure 18 , is located closely adjacent to a laterally extending edge 25 of the hole 26 and side rails 30 , 32 of the ladder 20 are located closely adjacent to side edges 27 , 29 of the hole 26 .
- the hole 26 for passage of a worker climbing the ladder 20 is relatively small and may comprise an opening on the order of two feet-by-two feet. The worker climbs the ladder 20 in a space provided between the interior surface of the tower structure 18 and the ladder 20 .
- the climb assist system 10 described herein generally comprises a header assembly 34 , a pair of guide members 36 , 38 connected to the header assembly 34 , a weight 40 and a climb assist cable 42 extending through the header assembly 34 and connected to the weight 40 .
- the header assembly 34 comprises a pulley frame 44 including first and second generally L-shaped plates 46 , 48 , where each plate 46 , 48 comprises a lateral vertical wall 50 and a lateral horizontal wing 52 .
- the plates 46 , 48 are fastened together by fasteners, such as bolts 54 , and are held in spaced relation to each other by spacers 56 .
- a pair of pulleys are located in the space between the plates 46 , 48 and comprise a front pulley 58 and a rear pulley 60 .
- the pulleys 58 , 60 are located on opposing sides of a vertical brace 62 comprising a pair of elongate vertically extending bars 64 , 66 .
- Upper ends of the vertically extending bars 64 , 66 are attached to outer surfaces of the lateral vertical walls 50 of the plates 46 , 48 and are held in spaced relation to each other at a lower end 68 of the vertical brace 62 by a spacer 70 held in place by a fastener 71 .
- the upper portion of the header assembly 34 is strengthened by a plate 72 that extends across the upper surfaces of the lateral horizontal wings 52 and functions to increase the rigidity of the plates 46 , 48 to resist torsional and bending forces applied to the climb assist system 10 .
- a pair of eye bolts 74 , 76 extend through the lateral horizontal wings 52 and the plate 72 for supporting and aligning the guide members 36 , 38 adjacent the rear side of the ladder 20 , where the guide members 36 , 38 extend between the rear side of the ladder 20 and the laterally extending edge 25 of the hole 26 .
- the guide members 36 , 38 may comprise either a flexible or a rigid structure, and preferably comprise a steel cable or similar material that is relatively inextensible and that is resistant to abrasion.
- the header assembly 34 is adapted to be mounted to a fall arrest system 78 which may already be present on the ladder 20 .
- the fall arrest system 78 comprises an upper square tubing support 80 that is anchored to a pair of upper rungs 82 , 84 of the ladder 20 with clamp brackets 86 , 88 .
- An anchor head 90 may be bolted to the square tubing support 80 for supporting a fall arrest line 92 to be engaged by a worker's rope grab safety mechanism
- the lower end 68 of the vertical brace 62 is dimensioned to fit inside the square tubing support 80 , and includes apertures 94 , 96 aligned with an upper mounting bolt location for the anchor head 90 .
- a bolt 98 may be removed to permit insertion of the vertical brace 62 , and the bolt 98 may be reinserted to complete mounting of the climb assist system 10 to the fall arrest system 78 .
- the climb assist cable 42 extends over the front and rear pulleys 58 , 60 and includes a front cable portion 100 and a rear cable portion 102 ( FIG. 5 ) where the front cable portion 100 is located extending along a front side of a plane 103 defined by the rungs of the ladder 20 and the rear cable portion 102 is located on a rear side of the plane 103 defined by the rungs of the ladder 20 . Also, it should be noted that the rear cable portion 102 may lie close to or substantially within a plane defined by the guide members 36 , 38 . As may be best seen in FIGS.
- a lower edge of the lateral vertical walls 50 may rest against an upper surface of the anchor head 90 to provide additional support to the head assembly 34 against downwardly directed forces that may be applied by a worker's weight to the front pulley 58 through the front cable portion 100 .
- the rear cable portion 102 is connected to an upper end of an actuator link 104 , and a lower end of the actuator link 104 is connected to an eye bolt 106 fastened to an upper edge of the weight 40 .
- the lower end of the actuator link 104 is also connected to an actuator lever 108 for a cable grab safety mechanism 110 that is positioned over the guide member 38 .
- the actuator lever 108 is spring biased downwardly, or counterclockwise as seen in FIG. 4 , toward a locking engagement position.
- the safety mechanism 110 may be of conventional design and may be, for example, similar to the mechanism disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,855,251, which patent is incorporated herein by reference.
- a fastener 105 passing through the actuator link 104 and the eye bolt 106 has a diameter substantially smaller than the size of the opening through the eye bolt 106 receiving the fastener 105 , such that the fastener 105 may move vertically within the opening through the eye bolt 106 .
- the lower ends of the guide members 36 , 38 are attached to a lower L-shaped anchor plate 112 by a pair of eye bolts 114 , 116 .
- the lower anchor plate 112 is mounted to a lower square tubing support 118 that is mounted to a lower pair of rungs 120 , 122 of the ladder 20 with clamp brackets 124 , 126 .
- the lower square tubing support 118 may be provided as part of the fall arrest system 78 and includes a lower fall arrest anchor plate 128 supporting an eye bolt 130 for connection to a lower end of the fall arrest line 92 .
- the weight 40 is provided with guides 132 , 134 along opposing edges of the weight 40 .
- the guide members 36 , 38 extend through the guides 132 , 134 to maintain the weight 40 at a predetermined position and alignment relative to the ladder 20 .
- the space between the backside of the ladder 20 and the lateral edge 25 of the platform hole 26 is limited and may be on the order of 4.5 inches, requiring the weight 40 to be configured to clear the existing space provided at the backside of the ladder 20 where it passes through the platform 24 .
- the weight 40 may have a front-to-rear dimension of approximately 1.5 inches, a side-to-side dimension of approximately 7 inches and a top-to-bottom dimension of approximately 24 inches to form an essentially elongated weight in the vertical direction positioned between within the width dimension of the side rails 30 , 32 and located within the narrow gap between the backside of the ladder 20 and the lateral edge 25 of the hole 26 .
- a stop member 135 is attached to the guide members 36 , 38 adjacent a lower end thereof to provide a stop for the weight 40 .
- the stop member 135 is positioned to limit the downward movement of the weight and prevent engagement of the weight 40 with the connections between the guide members 36 , 38 and the eye bolts 114 , 116 .
- the climb assist system 10 may be entirely mounted directly to the ladder 20 provided for a wind tower 12 , and may typically be installed without modification to the platforms 24 of the wind tower 12 . Further, the climb assist system 10 may be mounted to existing fall prevention hardware, facilitating retrofit installation of the climb assist system 10 .
- a worker may be attached to D-rings 136 , 138 connected to the front cable portion 100 by straps 140 , 142 and a yoke member 144 .
- the worker may be connected to the fall arrest line 92 by means of a rope or cable grab safety mechanism (not shown) such as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,855,251.
- the actuator lever 108 is moved upwardly to release the climb assist safety mechanism 110 , and the weight 40 acts to assist pulling upwardly on the worker to reduce the strain experienced by the worker while either ascending or descending the ladder 20 .
- the weight 40 will move downwardly closely adjacent to the backside of the ladder 20 , guided by the guide members 36 , 38 .
- the weight 40 will move upwardly.
- the weight 40 may be approximately 80 pounds for substantially offsetting the weight of a worker climbing the ladder 20 . If additional weight should be required to counterbalance the worker's weight, additional weights, such as narrow weight bars may be attached to the weight 40 . For example, weight may be added by bolting or otherwise attaching additional weights to the bottom of the weight 40 at a location between the guides 132 and 134 .
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Abstract
Description
- 1. Field of the Invention
- The present invention generally relates to a climb assist system and, more particularly, relates to a climb assist system adapted for installation in locations providing limited access space.
- 2. Background of the Invention
- The present invention provides a climb assist system which may be readily mounted to an existing fall prevention system, such as may be found on a vertical, generally planar climbing structure, such as a ladder or similar vertical structure. Initially, the distinction between a fall arrest system and a climb assist system should be noted. A fall arrest system generally includes a rope or cable extending along a climbing structure for receiving a rope grab attached to a person, where the rope grab will immovably engage the rope or cable if a downward force is applied to an actuator of the rope grab, such as may occur when a person begins to fall from the climbing structure. In contrast, a climb assist system generally provides an upward force, such as from a counterweight attached via a rope or cable to a person to assist the person in ascending or descending the climbing structure. The counterweight provided by the climb assist system may facilitate slowing a person's descent, should the person fall from the climbing structure, but generally may not provide the safety of a fall arrest system to prevent or arrest the continued fall of a person from the climbing structure.
- In recent years, a growing use of installations comprising elevated structures supporting equipment requiring maintenance, has resulted in an increased desirability to provide a climb assist system to facilitate access to the equipment. One such installation comprises wind tower installations in which wind driven turbines are mounted at the top of towers. Such wind tower installations are being designed to increasing heights in a continuing effort to place the wind turbine on the top of the tower at an optimal location for receiving wind energy. For example, wind towers are now often constructed to heights exceeding 200 feet, and the wind towers may typically be grouped together in wind turbine farms, some of which may include hundreds of wind turbines. Maintenance of the wind turbines themselves requires experienced workers that typically have an expertise in working on electrical equipment. Further, maintenance of multiple wind towers in a wind turbine farm may require a worker to climb several towers each day which, when combined with the increasing height of the towers, may contribute to worker fatigue.
- One proposed climbing aid for assisting a climber's ascent within a wind tower is noted in WO 2004/071930 A2. A counterweight is disclosed attached to a climber via a system of pulleys for counterbalancing the climber's weight to thereby assist ascent of the climber.
- One difficulty in designing a system for installation in a wind tower relates to the particular construction of wind towers in which a plurality of platforms are provided in the ascent from the ground to the top of the tower. A slot or hole is provided through each of the platforms for a ladder and for allowing a climber to pass upwardly or downwardly through the platforms; however, the platforms pose a difficulty in that they may restrict passage of a counterweight or a modification of the platforms may be required to accommodate a counterweight.
- It would be desirable to provide a climb assist system for a wind tower that may be installed without modification of the platform structures, and that may be implemented in a compact form so as to avoid intrusion into the operable space of a climber using the ladder.
- The present invention provides a climb assist structure which may be readily mounted with an existing fall arrest structure to provide an assembly that is easily retrofit to existing climbing structures. Further, the climb assist structure may be substantially entirely attached to an ladder defining a climbing structure and employs a compact counterweight and guide structure for efficient implementation of the climb assist structure.
- In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a climb assist system is provided for use in combination with a climbing structure having upper and lower ends. The climb assist system comprises a header assembly for attachment to the upper end of the climbing structure, the header assembly including a pulley frame having opposing front and rear ends and front and rear pulleys located adjacent the front and rear ends. At least one elongated guide member extends from the header assembly downwardly toward the lower end of the climbing structure. A climb assist cable extends over the front and rear pulleys and includes a front cable portion for extending along a front side of the climbing structure, and a rear cable portion for extending along a rear portion of the climbing structure adjacent to the at least one guide member. A counterweight is attached to the rear cable portion of the climb assist cable, the counterweight including a guide portion engaged with the at least one guide member.
- In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a climb assist system is provided for attachment to a fall prevention system including a fall prevention cable attached to an upper cable support located at the upper end of a climbing structure. The climb assist system comprises a header assembly for attachment to the upper end of the climbing structure, the header assembly including a pulley frame having opposing front and rear ends and front and rear pulleys located adjacent the front and rear ends. A vertical brace includes a first end for attachment to the upper cable support and a second end engaged with the pulley frame between the front and rear pulleys. First and second guide cables extend from the pulley frame downwardly toward the lower end of the climbing structure. A climb assist cable extends over the front and rear pulleys and includes a front cable portion for extending along a front side of the climbing structure, and a rear cable portion for extending along a rear portion of the climbing structure adjacent to the first and second guide cables. A counterweight is attached to the rear cable portion of the climb assist cable, the counterweight including at least one guide portion engaged with at least one of the guide cables.
- In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, a climb assist system is provided in combination with a ladder comprising vertically extending side rails and vertically spaced horizontal rungs extending between the side rails, including a fall prevention system comprising a fall prevention cable having upper and lower ends attached to upper and lower cable supports, respectively, at upper and lower rungs of the ladder. The climb assist system comprises a header assembly including a vertical brace and a horizontally extending pulley frame having opposing front and rear ends, the vertical brace having a first end engaged with the upper cable support and a second end engaged with the pulley frame between the front and rear ends. The pulley frame comprises lateral vertical walls and lateral horizontal wings extending from the lateral vertical walls. The pulley frame also includes front and rear pulleys located adjacent the front and rear ends, respectively, of the pulley frame and between the lateral vertical walls. First and second guide cables are provided, each guide cable including an upper end attached to a respective one of the lateral wings and a lower end rigidly fixed adjacent a lower end of the ladder. The guide cables extend along a rear side of a plane defined by the rungs of the ladder. A climb assist cable extends over the front and rear pulleys and includes a front cable portion extending along a front side of the plane defined by the rungs of the ladder adjacent to the fall prevention cable, and a rear cable portion extending along the rear side of the plane defined by the rungs of the ladder and located between the first and second guide cables. A counterweight is attached to the rear cable portion of the climb assist cable for substantially offsetting the weight of a person attached to the front cable portion, the counterweight including first and second guide portions engaged over the first and second guide cables, respectively.
-
FIG. 1 depicts a wind tower into which the climb assist system described herein may be incorporated; -
FIG. 2 is a partially cut away view of the top portion of a wind tower, including a ladder and incorporating the climb assist system described herein; -
FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the climb assist system described herein and shown in combination with a ladder and fall arrest system; -
FIG. 4 is a front elevation view of the climb assist system described herein and shown in combination with the ladder and fall arrest system; -
FIG. 5 is a side elevation view of a header assembly for the climb assist system described herein; -
FIG. 6 is a front elevation view of the header assembly for the climb assist system described herein; and -
FIG. 7 is a bottom plan view of the header assembly for the climb assist system described herein. - Referring to
FIGS. 1 and 2 , the climb assist system 10 described herein is shown in combination with awind tower 12 having aturbine 14 driven by wind impinging onblades 16. Theturbine 14 is supported on top of a vertically extendingtower structure 18. Thetower structure 18 is constructed as a hollow structure and includes a vertically extending climbing structure, illustrated herein as aladder 20 attached to an interior surface of thetower structure 18. Theladder 20 extends from a lower location adjacent abase 22 of thetower structure 18 to an upper location adjacent theturbine 14. In addition, a plurality of platforms 24 (only one shown) are located within thetower structure 18 positioned in vertically spaced relation to each other. Theladder 20 extends throughholes 26 formed in theplatforms 24 where a backside of theladder 20, facing away from the attachment location to the interior surface of thetower structure 18, is located closely adjacent to a laterally extendingedge 25 of thehole 26 andside rails ladder 20 are located closely adjacent toside edges hole 26. In atypical wind tower 12, thehole 26 for passage of a worker climbing theladder 20 is relatively small and may comprise an opening on the order of two feet-by-two feet. The worker climbs theladder 20 in a space provided between the interior surface of thetower structure 18 and theladder 20. - Referring to
FIGS. 3-7 , the climb assist system 10 described herein generally comprises aheader assembly 34, a pair ofguide members header assembly 34, aweight 40 and aclimb assist cable 42 extending through theheader assembly 34 and connected to theweight 40. Theheader assembly 34 comprises apulley frame 44 including first and second generally L-shaped plates plate vertical wall 50 and a lateralhorizontal wing 52. Theplates bolts 54, and are held in spaced relation to each other byspacers 56. A pair of pulleys are located in the space between theplates front pulley 58 and arear pulley 60. Thepulleys vertical brace 62 comprising a pair of elongate vertically extendingbars bars vertical walls 50 of theplates lower end 68 of thevertical brace 62 by aspacer 70 held in place by afastener 71. - The upper portion of the
header assembly 34 is strengthened by aplate 72 that extends across the upper surfaces of the lateralhorizontal wings 52 and functions to increase the rigidity of theplates eye bolts horizontal wings 52 and theplate 72 for supporting and aligning theguide members ladder 20, where theguide members ladder 20 and the laterally extendingedge 25 of thehole 26. Theguide members - The
header assembly 34 is adapted to be mounted to afall arrest system 78 which may already be present on theladder 20. Thefall arrest system 78 comprises an uppersquare tubing support 80 that is anchored to a pair ofupper rungs ladder 20 withclamp brackets anchor head 90 may be bolted to thesquare tubing support 80 for supporting afall arrest line 92 to be engaged by a worker's rope grab safety mechanism Thelower end 68 of thevertical brace 62 is dimensioned to fit inside thesquare tubing support 80, and includesapertures anchor head 90. Abolt 98 may be removed to permit insertion of thevertical brace 62, and thebolt 98 may be reinserted to complete mounting of the climb assist system 10 to thefall arrest system 78. - The climb assist
cable 42 extends over the front andrear pulleys front cable portion 100 and a rear cable portion 102 (FIG. 5 ) where thefront cable portion 100 is located extending along a front side of aplane 103 defined by the rungs of theladder 20 and therear cable portion 102 is located on a rear side of theplane 103 defined by the rungs of theladder 20. Also, it should be noted that therear cable portion 102 may lie close to or substantially within a plane defined by theguide members FIGS. 3 and 4 , a lower edge of the lateralvertical walls 50 may rest against an upper surface of theanchor head 90 to provide additional support to thehead assembly 34 against downwardly directed forces that may be applied by a worker's weight to thefront pulley 58 through thefront cable portion 100. - The
rear cable portion 102 is connected to an upper end of an actuator link 104, and a lower end of the actuator link 104 is connected to aneye bolt 106 fastened to an upper edge of theweight 40. The lower end of the actuator link 104 is also connected to anactuator lever 108 for a cablegrab safety mechanism 110 that is positioned over theguide member 38. Theactuator lever 108 is spring biased downwardly, or counterclockwise as seen inFIG. 4 , toward a locking engagement position. Thesafety mechanism 110 may be of conventional design and may be, for example, similar to the mechanism disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,855,251, which patent is incorporated herein by reference. Afastener 105 passing through the actuator link 104 and theeye bolt 106 has a diameter substantially smaller than the size of the opening through theeye bolt 106 receiving thefastener 105, such that thefastener 105 may move vertically within the opening through theeye bolt 106. When an upward force is applied to therear cable portion 102, such as by the weight of a worker attached to thefront cable portion 100, the end of theactuator lever 108 adjacent thefastener 105 is displaced upwardly to release thesafety mechanism 110 for movement along theguide member 38. If tension on therear cable portion 102 is relieved, theactuator lever 108 moves downwardly to lock thesafety mechanism 110 in position on theguide member 38 to prevent theweight 40 from falling. - It should be noted that the lower ends of the
guide members anchor plate 112 by a pair ofeye bolts lower anchor plate 112 is mounted to a lowersquare tubing support 118 that is mounted to a lower pair ofrungs ladder 20 withclamp brackets square tubing support 118 may be provided as part of thefall arrest system 78 and includes a lower fallarrest anchor plate 128 supporting aneye bolt 130 for connection to a lower end of thefall arrest line 92. - The
weight 40 is provided withguides weight 40. Theguide members guides weight 40 at a predetermined position and alignment relative to theladder 20. The space between the backside of theladder 20 and thelateral edge 25 of theplatform hole 26 is limited and may be on the order of 4.5 inches, requiring theweight 40 to be configured to clear the existing space provided at the backside of theladder 20 where it passes through theplatform 24. For example, without limitation, theweight 40 may have a front-to-rear dimension of approximately 1.5 inches, a side-to-side dimension of approximately 7 inches and a top-to-bottom dimension of approximately 24 inches to form an essentially elongated weight in the vertical direction positioned between within the width dimension of the side rails 30, 32 and located within the narrow gap between the backside of theladder 20 and thelateral edge 25 of thehole 26. - A
stop member 135 is attached to theguide members weight 40. Thestop member 135 is positioned to limit the downward movement of the weight and prevent engagement of theweight 40 with the connections between theguide members eye bolts - The climb assist system 10 may be entirely mounted directly to the
ladder 20 provided for awind tower 12, and may typically be installed without modification to theplatforms 24 of thewind tower 12. Further, the climb assist system 10 may be mounted to existing fall prevention hardware, facilitating retrofit installation of the climb assist system 10. - In use, a worker may be attached to D-
rings front cable portion 100 bystraps yoke member 144. In addition, the worker may be connected to thefall arrest line 92 by means of a rope or cable grab safety mechanism (not shown) such as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,855,251. As the worker applies weight to the climb assistcable 42, theactuator lever 108 is moved upwardly to release the climb assistsafety mechanism 110, and theweight 40 acts to assist pulling upwardly on the worker to reduce the strain experienced by the worker while either ascending or descending theladder 20. As the worker ascends theladder 20, theweight 40 will move downwardly closely adjacent to the backside of theladder 20, guided by theguide members ladder 20, theweight 40 will move upwardly. - The
weight 40 may be approximately 80 pounds for substantially offsetting the weight of a worker climbing theladder 20. If additional weight should be required to counterbalance the worker's weight, additional weights, such as narrow weight bars may be attached to theweight 40. For example, weight may be added by bolting or otherwise attaching additional weights to the bottom of theweight 40 at a location between theguides - While the form of apparatus herein described constitutes a preferred embodiment of this invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this precise form of apparatus, and that changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined in the appended claims.
Claims (19)
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US11/216,779 US7600610B2 (en) | 2005-08-31 | 2005-08-31 | Climb assist system |
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US7600610B2 US7600610B2 (en) | 2009-10-13 |
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WO2007130002A1 (en) * | 2006-04-04 | 2007-11-15 | Tower Logistics, Llc | Climb-assist device |
US20090031668A1 (en) * | 2005-09-16 | 2009-02-05 | Gamesa Innovation And Technology, S.L. | Method of Mounting Elements Inside a Wind Generator Tower |
US20110048853A1 (en) * | 2009-08-27 | 2011-03-03 | Christopher Gavin Brickell | Climbing device |
US20110138699A1 (en) * | 2010-06-29 | 2011-06-16 | Thomas Niehues | Rescue kit for a wind turbine, a wall for a wind turbine, and a portion of a compartment of a wind turbine |
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US20190338593A1 (en) * | 2017-07-17 | 2019-11-07 | Safeworks, Llc | Integrated climb assist and fall arrest systems and methods |
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US8033078B2 (en) * | 2005-09-16 | 2011-10-11 | Gamesa Innovation & Technology, S.L. | Method of mounting elements inside a wind generator tower |
US20090031668A1 (en) * | 2005-09-16 | 2009-02-05 | Gamesa Innovation And Technology, S.L. | Method of Mounting Elements Inside a Wind Generator Tower |
US20090288913A1 (en) * | 2006-04-04 | 2009-11-26 | Tower Logistics, Llc | Climb-assist device |
WO2007130002A1 (en) * | 2006-04-04 | 2007-11-15 | Tower Logistics, Llc | Climb-assist device |
US20110048853A1 (en) * | 2009-08-27 | 2011-03-03 | Christopher Gavin Brickell | Climbing device |
KR101150314B1 (en) | 2010-05-31 | 2012-06-08 | 서윤영 | tower cranes going up and down pulley |
US20110138699A1 (en) * | 2010-06-29 | 2011-06-16 | Thomas Niehues | Rescue kit for a wind turbine, a wall for a wind turbine, and a portion of a compartment of a wind turbine |
CN103241667A (en) * | 2013-05-23 | 2013-08-14 | 高远 | Tower crane worker climbing safety device |
US20200224494A1 (en) * | 2013-06-05 | 2020-07-16 | Od Tech Pty Ltd | Ladder safety mechanisms |
US11697965B2 (en) * | 2013-06-05 | 2023-07-11 | Od Tech Pty Ltd | Ladder safely mechanisms |
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US20170252584A1 (en) * | 2014-08-28 | 2017-09-07 | Bornack Gmbh & Co. Kg | Roping Down Escape System |
CN106178394A (en) * | 2016-08-31 | 2016-12-07 | 河南建培实业发展有限公司 | High-altitude outward bound frame |
US20190338593A1 (en) * | 2017-07-17 | 2019-11-07 | Safeworks, Llc | Integrated climb assist and fall arrest systems and methods |
US20200080377A1 (en) * | 2017-09-15 | 2020-03-12 | Simone Simon | Fall arrest ladder system |
US10890029B2 (en) * | 2017-09-15 | 2021-01-12 | Simone Simon | Fall arrest ladder system |
KR101982932B1 (en) | 2017-09-22 | 2019-05-27 | 서윤영 | Safety system for going up and down of tower-crane |
KR20190033737A (en) * | 2017-09-22 | 2019-04-01 | 서윤영 | Safety system for going up and down of tower-crane |
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